Enhancing the University’s growing reputation as a research institution, the Miller School of Medicine climbed two spots to No. 39 in the amount of highly coveted research funding awarded by the National Institutes of Health during the 2010-11 federal fiscal year.

Jonathan R. Jagid, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery, has been honored with the UMMG Faculty Hero Award for his exemplary patient care and commitment to the surgical treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease, brain injury and those who can benefit from specialized radiosurgery for brain and spinal tumors.

Kevin Park, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurological surgery at the Miller School’s Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and colleagues published a manuscript in the prestigious journal Nature that demonstrates that the deletion of two genes promotes continued and significant axon regeneration following injury.

Re Fred Tasker’s Nov. 22 story New brain vaccine aims to turn fatal disease into chronic: I had just learned that a friend was diagnosed with the very type of brain tumor highlighted in the article. I took a shot in the dark and called the number listed in The Miami Herald.

A cancer vaccine that tackles tumors and out-of-control cells — a first of its kind — will soon enter clinical trials in what researchers hope will transform currently fatal diseases into chronic illnesses.

“This is the future of cancer therapy,” Komotar says. “Radiation and chemotherapy fight the cancer but they also kill normal cells, and they’re toxic. This kills the cancer without harming normal tissue.”

There was no way to predict this tragic event, says Dr. Ricardo Komotar, a neurosurgeon and head trauma specialist at the University of Miami Hospital, himself a former high school football star. “My guess is that he got hit in the wrong spot at the wrong time at high velocity,” Komotar told staff writer Paul Riede. “In terms of what you can learn and how to prevent it, I think the answer is zero. I think it’s a freak injury.”

On October 5, faculty and staff from the WalkSafe program at the Miller School promoted student safety and wellness as they celebrated International Walk to School Day at Charles R. Drew Elementary School. Approximately 300 students walked and rolled to school along with parents, teachers and community leaders.

In early September, Ray Beccaria began struggling to put into words what he wanted to say. A week later, he had trouble reading and thought he might be having a stroke. His wife thought he was just stressed. The 64-year-old health information management specialist admits he was “scared every day” that his perplexing symptoms would worsen. A CT scan and MRI at University of Miami Hospital confirmed his fears: a glioblastoma.

While undergoing delicate brain surgery, patient Ray Beccaria spent much of the four-hour operation chatting with his surgeons. Anesthesiologist Dr. Thomas Fuhrman performed the equally delicate task of keeping Beccaria calm and comfortable but still awake enough to speak.

The 26th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner, held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City Monday night, raised more than $10 million to support groundbreaking spinal cord injury research by the Miller School of Medicine’s Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, which is at a historic juncture.

Dr. Barth Green, who founded the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, says his center is in the final stages of getting FDA approval to treat spinal cord injuries with Schwann cells – adult, peripheral nerve cells that help with regeneration.

Five University of Miami Miller School of Medicine programs at Jackson Memorial Medical Center (UM/Jackson) have been ranked among the best in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals survey, with UM’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute ranked Number One in ophthalmology for the eighth year in a row.

“Neurotrauma kills and permanently disables more young people world wide than any other disease,” said Dr. Ross Bullock, president of the National Neurotrauma Society and a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

In recognition of his unwavering dedication to neurosurgical science and his exemplary humanitarian efforts in Haiti for the past 20 years, Barth A. Green, M.D., professor and chair of neurological surgery, has been named the recipient of the 2011 Humanitarian Award of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The award was presented to Dr. Green on April 13.

Researchers at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis helped educate children and families about the brain and spinal cord at the second annual University of Miami Brain Fair on March 19 at the Miami Science Museum.